Daily Newsletter                                                                        April 12, 2012

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Today's Topic: Ecosystem Ecology

Readings:  The following readings support your daily challenge.  You are encouraged to read the corresponding chapter of your textbook.

• Ecosystem Ecology
• This is a topics page, and the following articles are linked from this page.  There are other articles you may find interesting, so I encourage you to explore more of this topic.
• Energy Economics in Ecosystems
• A basic overview that puts metabolism into an ecological prospective.  An important context for you to keep in mind.
• Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability
• A critical concept that has come out of ecology is that biodiversity is important for environmental stability.  Community members rely on each other.
• Terrestrial Primary Production: Fuel for Life
• This puts photosynthesis in an environmental perspective.  As with "Energy Economics in Ecosystems", this provides a valuable perspective on why metabolic pathways are so important.  Both of these article also help demonstrate the importance of the second law of thermodynamics.
• The Conservation of Mass
• We know of the conservation of energy, but what of the conservation of mass?
• What happens to all the carbon you take in as food?  Does it disappear?  This article brings another perspective to metabolic functions you may not have considered.
• The Nitrogen Cycle: Processes, Players, and Human Impact
• An important aspect of ecosystems are the Nutrient Cycles.  If mass is neither created nor destroyed, then it must be recycled.  So, how do we recycle the nutrients needed by our body?

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Daily Challenge: Ecosystem perspective on metabolism
After reading the articles above, you will start seeing that there is an ecosystem perspective on metabolic functions. Briefly describe the focus of ecosystem ecology (as it is broader than metabolism), and then discuss how ecosystem studies takes metabolic functions to a new perspective. How does the second law of thermodynamics work in living systems? Why is it important that we consider the conservation of matter?